Postponement
strategies can be applied to form, time, and place. Form postponement means that companies
delay production, assembly, or even design until after customer orders have been received,
which increases the ability to fine tune products to specific customer wishes. Time and
place or logistics postponement means that the forward movement of goods is delayed as
long as possible in the chain of operations, and goods are kept in storage in the
distribution chain. Logistics change requirements are examined in four case studies of
companies that implemented postponement. Operating characteristics are identified that are
valuable in assessing the potential attractiveness of postponement. An organization's
heritage and a lack of overall supply chain perspective can be bottlenecks in the
reconfiguration of logistics systems through postponement.